| Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo | |||||
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| Compilation album by Rivers Cuomo | |||||
| Released | 18 December 2007 | ||||
| Recorded | 1992–2007 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative | ||||
| Length | 45:49 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Rivers Cuomo chronology | |||||
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Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo is a compilation album by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, released on December 18, 2007.[1] It is available as a Digital release, CD release and 12" vinyl (the vinyl to be released three weeks later on January 8). The album features home demos that Cuomo has recorded from 1992-2007.[2] The album leaked online on December 12, 2007.[3]
Contents |
Prerelease
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Cuomo revealed the album contains “eighteen tracks, spanning my demo-making career from 1992 to 2007", including the original demo for 'Buddy Holly', and a cover of Ice Cube's 'The Bomb.' Previously unreleased tracks from the abandoned Songs from the Black Hole album will also be included.[4] Geffen posted on their official website that the tracklist would be composed of new songs; new even for the "hardcore weezer fan," and that the album will feature liner notes which will offer insight into where Cuomo draws inspiration to write and arrange his music.[5] On November 22, 2007, Cuomo posted "Blast Off!" on his official MySpace page.[6] This version is the same recording as was previously available, but features a different mix and contains things not present in the earlier mix, namely the beginning which was cut off of the first version. This version, however, cuts out the end of the song and also the end of the first verse.[7] On November 27, 2007, clips of "Blast Off", "Longtime Sunshine" and "Superfriend" began streaming on Weezer's official website.[6] It is unknown if there is going to be any singles off of the album.
Track listing
The final tracklist was revealed on November 16th, 2007.[8]
- "Ooh" – 0:47
- "The World We Love So Much" (Gregg Alexander cover) – 3:40
- "Lemonade" – 2:31
- "The Bomb" (Ice Cube cover) – 1:18
- "Buddy Holly" – 3:01
- "Chess" – 2:26
- "Longtime Sunshine" – 3:15
- "Blast Off!" – 1:57
- "Who You Callin' Bitch?" – 0:46
- "Wanda (You’re My Only Love)" – 3:38
- "Dude We're Finally Landing" – 0:56
- "Superfriend" – 3:30
- "Lover In The Snow" – 3:16
- "Crazy One" – 3:14
- "This Is The Way" – 4:17
- "Little Diane" (Dion cover) – 2:41
- "I Wish You Had An Axe Guitar" – 0:36
- "I Was Made For You" – 4:02
Origins of tracks
All information is taken from the liner notes.[9]
- Tracks 1-6 were recorded before the release of the band's debut album, Weezer (The Blue Album).
- Tracks 7-9, 11-12 were demos for Songs from the Black Hole, recorded in 1994 and 1995.
- Track 10 was recorded in 1995, originally intended for the movie Angus. The song was rejected by the film's producers. Weezer's "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly", an up-tempo rock song, was chosen instead.
- Tracks 13-14 were recorded in 1997 ("Lover in the Snow") and 1998 ("Crazy One") during Weezer's hiatus between Pinkerton and Weezer (The Green Album).
- Track 15 was considered for Weezer's Sixth Studio Album, but was ultimately left off of the album.
- Track 16 was recorded in 2003 with members of Sloan.
- Track 17 is a recording of Rivers Cuomo and his friends talking about his favorite band Kiss in Summer 1984.
- Track 18 was written for Make Believe.
Changes From Earlier Versions
- "Lover in the Snow" was edited down from a previous version that leaked to the internet several years ago. It's total run time is 3:16, while the older version clocked in at 4:23. Only a few repeated sections of the song are edited.
- "Blast Off!" originally had the first part of the song "Who You Callin' Bitch?" but was edited to make the songs separate. There are also noticable edits within the song, namely being the omission of the word "fine" in the 2nd verse because of the structure of the song.
Reception
Alone was released to a postive reception by critics, earning a score of 68 from Metacritic.[10] All Music Guide gave the album high praise, giving the album a near-perfect four and a half stars out of five, proclaimed, "...Alone will stand as an idiosyncratic gem in his catalog, showcasing him at his eccentric best."[11] Even, Pitchfork Media, who has expressed disappointment in Weezer's past three albums, gave Alone a positive review, stating, "[The Album] remind[s] us why we fell for dorks with horn-rimmed glasses and flying-V guitars in the first place,' and that, 'If nothing else, Alone reminds us that a lot of those over-ambitious, silly-on-paper ideas often blossomed in Cuomo's hands, and [that] there was more to Weezer in their early days than just crisp power-pop and cute videos.'"[12] Popmatters claimed that the album featured "...some of the strongest material that Cuomo has ever recorded."[13] The album opened with sales of 14,000, debuting at #163 on the Billboard Top 200.[14] The album also topped the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart for the January 5th, 2008 issue date.
More Archival Recordings?
On December 27th, 2007, Cuomo stated "I would love to put out at least one more, I'm talking with the record company (now) to figure out what's the best way for me to get more of this stuff out, and if they're gonna be involved or not. But it's certainly my hope to put out as much of this stuff as I can."[15]
Book Plans
Originally, the album was to be released along with a book Cuomo is writing. However, he later decided it would be best to release the album and book separately.[16] According to Cuomo, "the book is now going to come out at a much later date - a year? Two years? Three years? I don't know. It's going to be very cool, though."[17] The multimedia project will be an extremely detailed account of Cuomo's life from 1992 to May 10, 1994 including photos, journal entries and poems. This period of Cuomo's life will document the formation of Weezer through the release of their debut album. As of October 2007, the book is already more than 400 pages in length.[18]
Personnel
All information is taken from the liner notes.[9]
- Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar, percussion, bass, piano, clarinet, photography
- Patrick Wilson – drums on "Lemonade".
- Sloan (Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson, Andrew Scott) - guitar, bass, drums on "Little Diane".
- Karl Koch - photography
- Todd Sullivan - A&R
- Stephen Marcussen - mastering
- Stewart Whitmore - digital editing
- Rich Mouser - digital editing
- Robert Fisher - photography
- Julie Kramer - photography
- Beverly Shoenberger - photography
References
- ^ Kharas, Kev. Weezer's Rivers Cuomo to release solo album. Drowned in Sound. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ Zeiss, John. Rivers Cuomo to release demo collection. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ Hurme, Hanna. Whether You Like It Or Not, Rivers Cuomo Won't Leave You Alone. Cinema Blend. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel. Rivers Talks Solo Work, New Weezer Album, Ice Cube. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ Weezer's Rivers Cuomo to Release Record of Demo Tracks. Geffen. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ a b Preview upcoming Rivers Cuomo solo disc. Sound the Sirens. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Luckhurst, Alyssa. Rivers Cuomo Releases Home Recordings. andPOP. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Rivers Cuomo Unveils 'Alone' Tracklisting. SPIN. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ a b Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo booklet and liner notes
- ^ Rivers Cuomo: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo > Overview. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Crock, Jason. Rivers Cuomo: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo: Pitchfork Record Review. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Sawdey, Evan. Rivers Cuomo: Alone - Popmatters Music Review. Popmatters. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Jenison, David. Groban's Gain, Blige's Pain on Charts. Yahoo! News. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Graff, Gary. Cuomo Keen On Archival Releases, New Weezer CD. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Solarski, Matthew. Weezer's Cuomo Compiles Demos for Release. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ Weezer frontman to bring out solo album. NME. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ Heisel, Scott. Web Exclusive: A conversation with Rivers Cuomo. Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
External links
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| Brian Bell · Rivers Cuomo · Scott Shriner · Patrick Wilson Jason Cropper · Matt Sharp · Mikey Welsh |
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| Albums | Weezer (The Blue Album) · Pinkerton · Weezer (The Green Album) · Maladroit · Make Believe · Untitled |
| EPs | The Good Life · The Lion and the Witch · Winter Weezerland |
| DVD | Video Capture Device |
| Singles | "Undone - The Sweater Song" · "Buddy Holly" · "Say It Ain't So" · "El Scorcho" · "The Good Life" · "Pink Triangle" · "Hash Pipe" · "Island in the Sun" · "Photograph" · "Dope Nose" · "Keep Fishin'" · "Beverly Hills" · "We Are All on Drugs" · "Perfect Situation" · "This Is Such a Pity" |
| Related bands | The Rentals · The Special Goodness · The Relationship · Avant Garde · Homie · Karlophone · Space Twins |
| Related articles | Discography · Karl Koch · Songs from the Black Hole · The Kitchen Tapes · Alone - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo · Foozer |
